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Delta Air Lines will discontinue non-stop service between Los Angeles International Airport - LAX and 13 U.S. cities, including Phoenix, Portland (Oregon), and Seattle.

Delta Air Lines will double the price of checking a second checked bag from $25 to $50 on domestic trips taken on or after August 5. The new fee applies on tickets purchased starting today, July 31. Delta will also raise its fees on checked items requiring special handling such as ski equipment and surfboards on both domestic and international flights.


SkyMiles news & changes

Delta is revamping its frequent-flier system, moving to "a three-tier system that will require as many as 60,000 miles for a last-minute domestic coach ticket," The New York Times (free registration) reports. Under Delta's new system, which will begin in early September, the airline's frequent fliers will be asked to redeem 25,000, 40,000 or 60,000 miles for a free domestic trip "depending on when they book their ticket, and where they are traveling," the Times writes. Currently, Delta offers two redemption thresholds for domestic frequent-flier awards: 25,000 or 50,000.

As for the new award levels, Delta also reinstated its "last seat" award option, which allows customers to redeem miles on any flight that's not sold out. Those awards "cost" 60,000 miles for coach or 100,000 for first. Tim Winship, a frequent-flier expert and an editor at SmarterTravel.com, tells the Times he's concerned about what the changes ultimately will mean for customers. "The real question is, what miles will people pay on a round-trip basis to take the trip they want to take? We don't know," Winship tells the Times. "Certainly, the world doesn’t need any more complexity when it comes to frequent-flier programs."

Jeff Robertson, managing director of Delta's SkyMiles program, tells the Times that frequent-flier mileage issued by Delta jumped 24% from 2004 to 2007. Couple that with flat or slow growth during the same period, and "the capacity is just not there," Robertson tells the Times. The new three-tier system also applies to international flights. A coach-class ticket to Europe, for example, now requires 60,000, 90,000 or 125,000 miles –- compared to the current thresholds of either 50,000 or 100,000 miles.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/ ... csp=Travel

Here's something else for ya'all that fly with Delta:

Delta raising baggage fees
AP - Wed Jul 30, 8:26 AM ET

ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation's third-largest carrier, will double its charge for checking a second bag on a domestic flight as part of a set of fee increases to help offset the high cost of fuel. The Atlanta-based carrier said Tuesday that the changes will apply to customers who purchase a ticket on or after Thursday for travel on or after Aug. 5.

Fee changes include an increase from $25 to $50 to check a second bag for domestic travel. Fees for specialty items that require special handling, such as surfboards or ski equipment, will increase on domestic and international flights, Delta said. First Class, BusinessElite and Medallion customers will still be able to check up to three bags at no charge, the airline said.

Delta said that as fuel costs remain high, it believes revising its fee structure for excess bags and specialty items is essential to generate the necessary revenues to offset its higher costs. Delta currently does not charge passengers for checking a first bag on domestic flights. It has said it is studying a decision by several other major carriers to impose that fee.

Delta customers checking bags on international flights can check a first and second bag at no charge. Fees are for each extra bag, each way.

The fee for checking a third bag on a domestic flight will increase from $80 to $125, while the fee for checking a bag that is between 51 and 70 pounds on a domestic flight will rise from $80 to $90. On any flight checking a bag that is 62 inches to 80 inches of the total of its length plus its width plus its height will rise from $150 to $175.

Delta warned on its Web site that if a customer has an extra piece of baggage that goes over the weight limit and the size limit, the passenger will be charged three times — once for the extra bag, once for going over the size limit and once for going over the weight limit.

The airline said it accepts up to 10 checked bags on Delta mainline flights and four checked bags on Delta Connection carriers. It said a $175 charge per item applies to media representatives carrying camera, film, video tape, lighting, or sound equipment. Delta announced April 14 that it will acquire Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines Corp. in a stock-swap deal that would create the world's largest carrier in terms of traffic. The deal is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

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